Member of the Month December 2024: Lyuboslav Angelov

Here at The Staff Canteen, we feature a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated – this month’s winner is Lyuboslav Angelov.

As thanks for being a regular contributor to The Staff Canteen, Lyuboslav will receive a TSC mug, an item of TSC merchandise from our online store, and be entered into our member of the year 2025 competition.

Lyuboslav, executive area chef for Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, has been a member of The Staff Canteen since July 2023.

>>> Find out more about Lyuboslav and follow him <<<

We spoke with Bulgaria-born Lyuboslav, who now lives in Newbury, to find out a bit more about his career in the industry, having moved to the UK in 2019.

“My culinary journey started in Bulgaria,” he said.

“I was working predominantly seasonal jobs in Bulgaria, in the mountains and seaside. I also used to be head chef for the academy of the biggest football club in Bulgaria, Levski Sofia.

“After that, I decided I needed to find somewhere I could improve my skills, so I went to Cyprus, working in the biggest hotel in Cyprus, five-star Adams Beach Hotel. I worked there with members of the Cyprus culinary team, really good chefs and I got a lot of knowledge from them.

“After that I came to work in England and started to work in a small Italian restaurant, based in Newbury, Berkshire. After that, I moved to The Hare & Hounds, which is part of Grosvenor Pubs and Inns.

“I started as a senior sous chef there, then was promoted to head chef and worked there a couple of years, then got promoted to my current position as executive area chef.

“I am looking after three premium hotel sites, multi-award-winning hotels, supporting those teams, trying to improve the food offer, because at the moment it is probably the hardest time to be in hospitality nowadays.

“We are still doing a great job and winning awards. We are getting better and better every day.”

Asked what brought him to England, Lyuboslav said: “Because we are all watching TV in the other countries and it was these great chefs, the likes of Gordon Ramsay, and I got super excited.

“Part of my family is living in the UK, so I had a chat with them about the opportunity about cheffing and they gave me really good words, saying I can develop my skills here.

“I have met some really nice chefs. I work with some chefs who have been working with Michel Roux or the Gordon Ramsay Group. In the five years, I have developed myself so much. Not only in my profession, but definitely in my life.”

He added: “At Grosvenor Pubs and Inns, we are really focusing on mental health in the kitchen.

“Me as a senior leader in that position, I am now a certificated mental health first aider. We are looking after our people and supporting our colleagues.”

Grosvenor have 11 sites across the south of England, supporting local farmers and businesses.

And the idea of living off the local land is something Lyuboslav is well accustomed to.

He explained: “My grandparents were farmers. We always produced our food.

“The food has always been around me and part of our traditions. I remember my grandmother and grandfather used to have grapes, watermelons, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums and until I was probably 16, I never knew what food from a shop was!

“Since I came to England, I’ve been trained by chefs who are trained in classic French. So I get influences from them.

“But at the moment, I really like to cook a lot of game meat, because Berkshire, this region is great for game meat. I find it quite exciting to treat these pieces of meat properly. I just love to cook venison. It is such a gentle and tender meat. If you treat it in the right way, you can get a really great product.”

To get to know a bit more about Lyuboslav, we asked him some quick-fire questions to finish.

Name a comfort food that isn’t considered ‘cheffy’ but that you love to eat

Probably like most chefs that are doing long hours, definitely I am going for a kebab.

What do you like about a member of The Staff Canteen?

I found The Staff Canteen in 2023 and I looked at these great pictures from chefs sharing their expertise and cooking skills. I think, as a chef community, it brings us really close so we can share ideas, learn from each other and grow together.

What is the most important lesson you’ve been taught as a chef?

Probably the most important lesson I learnt was consistency – you have to be consistent to survive in the kitchen and to stand out. The other thing is you have to be passionate, definitely. You’re not going to survive in the kitchen without passion.

What are your hopes for the future?

Definitely I have ambitions. Currently with my pub company, I still want to grow with them, because we are in the beginning of our journey. We have achieved so much, but are still pushing hard to achieve so much more.

If we are looking a bit further, one day my dream is to open a restaurant in Bulgaria. The food scene in Bulgaria is starting to develop a little bit compared to years before. You definitely have a niche to showcase yourself there.